Lufthansa Earns IATA’s Fast Travel Award

Lufthansa has received IATA’s Fast Travel Award for its innovative, flexible solutions to simplify and speed up the passenger experience.

The main aim of the Fast Travel initiative is to make the passenger’s transition through the airport as smooth as possible and to reduce waiting times, for example during check-in, baggage drop-off or boarding.

Lufthansa fulfills all six Fast Travel requirements at its two hubs, Frankfurt and Munich.

At check-in, Lufthansa offers passengers all three of the electronic options proposed in IATA’s Fast Travel programme. In addition to check-in kiosks at the airport, there are two online check-in options. Passengers can check in at the office or at home on their own PC – or via an Internet-enabled mobile telephone. More than 60% of all Lufthansa passengers now use one of these electronic check-in services.

Self-service baggage drop-off is also becoming increasingly popular. This system enables passengers to print their baggage tag at a drop-off kiosk at the airport and attach it to their suitcase themselves. At the press of a button, the baggage is automatically transferred to the baggage handling system. Twenty-five such baggage drop-off kiosks have been in use at Munich Airport for several years now. The latest, user-friendly generation has been undergoing tests since November at Frankfurt and Munich and, if successful, will be put into routine operation.

Self-boarding at the gate is another of the key criteria for earning the Gold Award. Automated boarding facilities are already available for Lufthansa passengers at more than 160 gates in Germany. All passengers have to do is hold their boarding pass against the scanner, which reads the 2D barcode and then allows them direct access to the aircraft.

In order to qualify for the Fast Travel award, airlines must provide three other self-service options: automated document check, independent flight re-booking and lost bag registration. Passengers can perform these self-service functions via any of the electronic channels, at an airport kiosk or via the internet.

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